Longevity has been on ongoing study area for a long time. This has ranged from "I want to feel good right now," to medical researchers concerned that our present one fix for each separate health issue will soon take up our society's entire medical resources in a few years, to serendipitous curiosity about how life works. A world respected gerontologist who manages a million-dollar research laboratory in California has been quoted as saying there are people alive today who will be alive and in good health a thousand years from now. But another way of looking at this is developing a life-renewal process at the cellular level that can help us right now. Recent longevity research is showing very promising results in developing support for alleviating many existing health issues and seriously extending our lifetime. This newsletter examines how some of the information and products coming from the longevity research may help people with the health condition of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).
Some of these treatments amount to lengthy transfusions of "young blood" i.e., blood donated from a young person. But those treatments cost as much as $10,000 for each transfusion and a sequence of some half dozen infusions are necessary. But there are also simple nutritional approaches that are showing significant benefits, and many of these approaches are becoming available for everyone. Several of these products are so promising that they are being used in unofficial human clinical trials, some of which are planned to last as long as 50 years.
First, a brief review of the body is in order. Our bodies consist of cells. There are an estimated some 37 trillion cells in the typical human body. Each of these cells is an intricate factory that converts our food to the energy that supports our life functions. Within each cell, there are several different sub-structures or organelles that perform specific functions; research into the proper functioning of these structures is providing information about how to develop and maintain healthy cells for a better and longer life.
One organelle is the mitochondria. These structures perform much of the basic translation of DNA codings into cellular processes, and perform much of the basic energy development process of turning nutrients into the adenosine phosphate (ATP) which is the body's energy currency. So the number of mitochondria within each cell is important as well as pathways that support the energy flows.
Another organelle within each cell is the lysosome. These structures act as "garbage disposals" to handle leftover molecules from the energy production process, such as molecular fragments that can no longer be used. As we age, many of these lysosomes get filled up with these byproducts of the body's energy processes and overall health degrades. Thus it is important to keep the lysosomes healthy and able to keep leftovers from the body's energy processes from clogging up the system. The formal name for this process is autophagy.
This newsletter covers melatonin and pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ). The enzymes NAD+ and AMPK will be discussed in the next newsletter.
Melatonin has long been regarded as only managing the body's 24-hour circadian rhythm. But developing research is showing many other benefits. Melatonin has beneficial effects on everything from heart disease and diabetes, to bone health and obesity, to managing cancer. Melatonin now amounts the body's low level heavy artillery in protecting against many of the consequences of aging.
Melatonin has now been shown to:
And since most human cells and tissues contain mitochondria, that translates to a vital protective effect of melatonin in all body organs and systems.
Melatonin has been found to possess 200% more antioxidant power than vitamin E. Melatonin has been found to be superior to glutathione as well as vitamins C and E in reducing oxidative damage.
Laboratory animal research over various animals consistently reports life extension of 10 to 20 percent for animals treated with melatonin.
It has been reported to be effective in treating some cancers; urologists are reported giving their breast cancer patients as much as 100 mg a day.
Papers reviewing the current melatonin research now recommend everyone, beginning in their middle years, continually supplement with melatonin to prevent mitochondrial degradation, and to preserve youthful energy supplies. A suggested dose is as 2 - 3 mg a day,
Does it help MCS? Difficulty sleeping is a common problem for people with MCS. Recalling the biomarker research by Dr. belPomme in France that showed significantly lower melatonin in people with MCS, one asks if melatonin supplementation can help. One person with MCS reported that the usual dose of 3 mg/day showed no effect; but a continual high dose of 20 mg/day did definitely help the sleep problem. Also, a person with MCS found that a one-time very high dose of 50 mg/day definitely did facilitate clearing up overnight from an MCS exposure; a recovery that otherwise would usually take several days.
Much more information is at the following citations -
The material pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is becoming available as a health and longevity supplement.
PQQ was discovered in the 1950's, and it occurs widely at very low concentrations in the natural world. It is a micronutrient that is essential for the well being of most plant and animal organisms. PQQ is made by a few bacteria, but it is not made in the human body. Common food sources of PQQ are natto, fresh fruits such as papaya, and kiwi. It appears to have a estimated minimum daily requirement (MDR) of about 1.0 microgram or less a day for humans. PQQ is easily destroyed by cooking, so highly processed foods tend have a PQQ deficiency. Because it is an essential micronutrient, it is sometimes called a vitamin and it is also more potent than most antioxidants, such as CoQ10, carnosine, resveratol, lipoic acid and L-carnitine.
PQQ has the capability of promoting replication of the mitochondrial structures within the human cell which in turn provide most of the energy for cellular functions, and enabling the nucleus to express its DNA to provide more energy for the body. This process is called biogenisis.
PQQ is now being promoted as a longevity supplement with 10 or 20 milligram a day doses. The safety of PQQ has been addressed with short-term human trials on healthy adults to meet patent requirements. No adverse effects were noted with dosages of up to 60 milligrams of PQQ per day. The only effect the research reported was that the subjects did better on intelligence tests. The PQQ molecule is water soluble, so it is expected to not accumulate in the body over time.
PQQ has been reported effective in treating Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. It has been reported to very effective in treating heart disease; to the extent that researchers say "it should be available in every emergency room in the country." It has been reported to protect from neurotoxicity caused by materials such as mercury,
Loss of mitochondrial function, such as via aging or trauma, has been implicated in a variety of non-specific, widespread inflammatory responses in the body when body cells die without being cleaned up with the apoptosis mechanism. The mitochondrial fragments then enter the bloodstream where the immune system treats them as foreign bodies and in turn mounts a full immune system response. PQQ has been claimed to address this problem.
PQQ has been reported to have rescued people with severe untreatable blood poisoning or sepsis.
Current laboratory research suggests that PQQ may be effective in controlling the inflammation processes in several forms of arthritis. Especially rheumatoid arthritis, which is a common side effect of MCS. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the body's immune system erroneously attacks cells in the body joints. When that happens, some of the cells in the joints release inflammatory chemicals called cytokines. Researchers testing these cells in vitro have demonstrated that adding PQQ did decrease the cytokines. An bioengineered mouse study showed that, after 45 days, PQQ-administrated animals showed a dramatic decrease in inflammatory degeneration. Osteoarthrits amounts to the body's immune system erroneously attacking the bones directly. Tests where PQQ was administered to collagen-degrading enzymes showed significant a decrease in the damage. Thus PQQ promises to help people with some forms of arthritis.
PQQ appears to have extensive and far-reaching bodily effects. If you do use it, keep in mind that the PQQ concentration in available supplements is some 10,000 times more concentrated than evolution designed us for. Do have medical support, beginning with a comprehensive blood assay to establish a health baseline, and maintain careful ongoing monitoring of all body functions.
Keeping in mind that PQQ has extensive anti-oxidant properties and could stress the kidneys, it is best to use a formulation that also supports those concerns. One example is Life Extension's Mitochondrial Optimizer.
Does it help with MCS? , one person with MCS found that PQQ did not help decrease the MCS aggravation. But it did help rebuild the body, both mentally, and physically, from the many downstream or side effects that are brought on by the MCS condition.
Much more information is available at -
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